Today we’ll discover how to make a red wine reduction for meats and risottos. Like the meat brown stock (Fondo bruno di carne), the red wine reduction is a perfect sauce to accompany main meat dishes such as roasts, roast beef and sliced steaks, and it’s also useful in the preparation of some risottos. I should tell you that there is no single, definitive recipe for making a red wine reduction, but one thing is certain: when preparing it you must balance the wine’s acidity and the sauce’s consistency, so as to obtain a mix of pronounced yet delicate aromas and flavors.
First choose a reasonably good red wine that is not oxidized and does not smell vinegary; you don’t need an expensive wine, but a full-bodied, pleasant red is best. To lighten and harmonize the flavor, add some meat stock or vegetable stock, preferably homemade, and to soften the sauce’s acidity add a little honey, which pairs very well with meat.
Let’s get to the stove now: the gourmet red wine reduction is a quick sauce that will allow you to prepare chic main courses and refined first courses without too much stress. As always, before we get started, remember that if you want to stay updated on all my recipes you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here)
Also check out:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 1 1/4 cups (about 300 ml)
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 3 cups red wine
- 1 1/4 cups meat stock (or vegetable stock)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour (about 10 g)
- 2 tsp honey
- 2 leaves bay leaves
- to taste rosemary
- 1 white onion (small or one shallot)
- 6 tbsp butter (about 80 g)
- to taste black peppercorns
Tools
- Pot
- Stovetop
- Whisk
- Strainer
Steps
For the red wine reduction you can use a small white onion, a shallot or garlic. You will also need a full-bodied red wine; I used a local variety with an intense color and decent quality.
Chop the onion or shallot. Put half of the butter in the pot and let it melt and brown slightly to a light hazelnut color. Add the onion and let it soften.
Pour in the wine, add the peppercorns, rosemary sprigs and bay leaves, and cook for 20 minutes over high heat, allowing the wine to reduce and the alcohol to evaporate.
Once the wine has reduced by more than two-thirds of its original volume, add the stock and let it reduce further; in the end you should obtain about 300 ml (roughly 1 1/4 cups) of liquid.
Add the honey or sugar, one or two teaspoons depending on how tart the result is, and adjust the salt if necessary. Strain the mixture through a sieve and press a little to extract the solids; you should end up with something like an onion purée—collect it and mix it back into the reduction.
Put the flour into the same pot where you reduced the wine, loosen it with a little of the reduction and break up any lumps, then gradually add the rest of the reduction and blend.
Allow to thicken over low heat, turn off the stove, add the remaining butter and stir until you get a glossy mixture. The red wine reduction is ready to use; I prefer to blend it with some brown stock for a more intense flavor.
Storage and tips
The red wine reduction can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week in an airtight container, or you can freeze it in small single portions in an ice cube tray so you can thaw the amount needed to season your dishes. For a gluten-free reduction, replace all-purpose flour with one teaspoon of cornstarch. If after chilling and reheating the sauce it is still too thick, thin it with a little stock or water and bring it to a boil again.
If you want to stay updated on my recipes, follow me also on:
Pinterest; Twitter, YouTube and TikTok.
From here, you can return to the HOME and discover new recipes!
